No Advantage - Spirit of the Rule

[youngump]

Originally Posted by ronald

KJ.

This was specifically addressed at the Advanced FP camp last year. The shifting of the weight and loss of contact is not a violation.

Not to anybody with any sense it's not, but it is against the strict letter of the rule.
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[RadioBlue]

Originally Posted by youngump

Not to anybody with any sense it's not, but it is against the strict letter of the rule.

So that part of the slippery slope is okay?

As officials, we apply judgement to the black-and-white of the rules book. Officiating happens in the grey. (At least the difficult part ... the part we're really paid to do ... does.)

Perhaps I used my grey crayon a bit outside the lines in my sitch. This discussion has certainly caused me to rethink whether or not I handled this the best way.

The NFHS rulebook says a runner cannot leave a base "for any reason" when the ball is in the pitcher's possession in the circle. Whether erroneously believing a ball was foul or losing contact with a base while shifting feet, runners in both situations are leaving the base. A runner tagged by a fielder with the ball in either sitch are out.

My point is: the same arguments can be made for the foot-shifting scenario that were made against the brain-farting baserunner. Directives from higherups notwithstanding, why would it be okay to call an out in one situation, but not the other? Are they not, essentially, the same situation in that the runner is leaving the base "for any reason"?

Discuss.

[RadioBlue]

I just got this from one of my college assignors. It is an approved NCAA ruling from Dee Abrahamson:

Rule 12, Section 21.6.3 Runner on first base following a single. The pitcher has possession of the ball in the circle when:
1) with only a single foot on the base, the runner lifts it off the base to clean off the bottom of her cleats, thus breaking contact with the base. She does not attempt to advance. Because there is no advantage gained, should the umpire ignore the violation?
No, the runner should be called out unless she asked for and was granted time by the umpire.

2) the runner walks off the base to groom the dirt area she churned up as she ran out her single. She does not attempt to advance, so should the umpire ignore the violation?
As in the earlier situation, the runner should be called out unless she asked for and was granted time by the umpire.

In both these cases, the umpire should enforce the rule without assigning intent of the runner or whether or not a significant advantage is gained. It is much cleaner to call all aspects of the game based on the objective actions that are displayed rather than to try to assign value or intent and then decide if the action warrants a penalty. For some, that might seem "nitpicky" but it does provide predictable, consistent application of the rules without having to judge intent OR whether or not a "real" advantage is gained. That said, it is good preventative umpiring to anticipate these possible actions. For example, if the area around the base is churned up at the conclusion of play, the umpire can signal "time" in anticipation of the player’s desire to smooth the ground. If the player simply walks off the base without requesting time, you have no violation as time is already called. Bottom line, however, is that players are responsible for adhering to the playing rules and the NCAA Softball Rules Committee does not favor the slippery slope of encouraging umpires to ignore rule violations when they think there is no intent to violate the rules or conversely penalize players only when it is apparent that they intentionally violated the rules.

Additional remark-- the Umpire’s Manual contradicts this intent of the committee. Specifically, on page 112 of the Umpires Manual, under preventative umpiring, the text says do NOT penalize a player who, while dusting herself off, loses contact with the base. Since the runner has no thought of attempting to advance to third, simply call time because no real or perceived advantage is given to either team.

[KJUmp]

Originally Posted by RadioBlue

I just got this from one of my college assignors. It is an approved NCAA ruling from Dee Abrahamson:

Now that's a directive. No gray area there.

[IRISHMAFIA]

I sent this to a member of the NUS:

Had a recent discussion among some umpires about the LBR. When the issue about whether or not to make the call if there was no definitive advantage led us to the argument about calling a runner out for "clearing the spikes, falling off the base, shifting weight, switching feet" because "technically" the runner has violated the LBR by losig contact with the base.

The LBR states a runner violates the rule by "leaving" the base. However, I think we have some umpires who take RS#34.I to heart where it is stated that if a runner is standing off the base without immediately advancing, they are in violation. Obviously, I believe the runner is still bound to be in contact with the base until the pitcher releases the ball, a little common sense would tell an umpire that would be when the pitcher is preparing to pitch, not when she is standing there just catching her breath or taking a second for her catcher to set.

Well, in my mind shifting one's weight, clearing the spikes, switching feet and, for that matter, even simply slipping off the edge of the base, is not leaving the base. Technicality? Semantics? Call it what you may, this may be an acceptable interpretation for not calling a runner out for simply losing contact with the base, but not moving from that space.

This is the response I received:

You are correct on all points. What you are describing, in the time frame you are describing it, is perfectly legal. Once on the bag, the changing of which foot is touching the bag when both feet leave the bag is legal.
We must go back to the 70's to derive the intent of the Rule. It's intent goes along with why it was named the "look back rule". Prior to it's implementation, the pitcher used to have to 'look the runner back to the bag', if the runner was off the bag. If the pitcher looked him back and then turned away, the runner would then stay off the bag and dance etc. It slowed the game considerably. Thus the current rule.

So any adjustments, well prior to the pitch, still are legal per the intent of the rule.

Rule 8, Section 7 2, does not help much when it says "Once the runner stops at a base for any reason, the runner will be declared out the leaving the base", this refers to a bona-fide attempt to leave as opposed to the changing of feet on the bag.